A game of chess: King & Queen
by doije
Summary: Chika and Relena have a game of chess and discuss the importance of King and Queen. Slight Tohma/Masaru.


King & Queen

Chika stared down at the chess board in front of her. She wasn't a big fan of games where you had to think a lot, despite being better at them than her brother. For a moment, she remembered a story her mother had told her about back then, when their father had tried to teach Masaru the rules of Shogi, but without success. In the end, the boy had flipped the shogi board and ran out of the room, crying in frustration.

Yeah, she was definitely glad that she had more patience than Masaru.

"Can I help you somehow?"

Looking at the girl sitting on the other side of the chess board, Chika watched her intently as she placed black and white pieces on top of the board. Relena smiled and nodded briefly before she handed her all of the remaining white pieces.

"Thank you, Chika-san. I really appreciate your help."

The older girl only shook her head with a bright smile, grabbing one of the pieces – the queen – and placed it next to the white king while she followed Relena's directions. Quickly, all pieces were set and the game of chess was ready to go.

"Do you want me to explain the rules, Chika-san?" Relena asked, smiling shyly.

"I guess," Chika slowly nodded and frowned. "I haven't played chess before, you know… It's kinda impossible with Masaru around!"

"I can imagine that, but don't worry! It's actually fairly easy," the younger girl giggled lightly as she pointed to Chika's side of the board. She was happy that the older girl had agreed to spend time with her while their brothers were out. It was fun, and she liked to spend her vacations in Japan even more now that she had a friend around her age. "White begins, so it's your turn," she explained patiently, though a thought crossed her mind. "Or… do you want me to explain the different movement sets first? I- I've never explained chess to anyone else before…"

Awkwardly, the blonde looked down at the chess board, afraid that she wouldn't be able to do it properly. She was certain that her big brother wouldn't have any trouble in explaining something as simple as chess… Too bad he wasn't with them right now. No! She couldn't think like that, after all it had been her suggestion to play chess with her friend! Quickly, she pushed those thoughts into a corner of her mind and regarded Chika with a curious look.

"Nah, it's fine! Just tell me everything while we play," Chika grinned cheerfully as she got a hold of one of her pawns. It was the one on the far left side of the board. Slowly, the brunette's grin took on a more determined edge. "But don't go easy on me! That wouldn't be fun at all, got it?"

"A-alright!"

The game started off without any complications. Whenever Chika picked a new piece to move, Relena explained its set of movements and what wasn't allowed to do. The blonde was overjoyed that Chika was a quick learner, albeit she still made a few mistakes over the course of their game. Finally, after some time, the match entered the last stage; Chika's white king was in danger. Both girls knew that it was only a matter of a few turns until Relena could announce the checkmate.

"You know, Relena-chan…" Chika muttered thoughtfully and defeated a black knight with her last rook. In a swift motion, she picked the piece up and placed it next to the board. "Why is the king more important than the queen? She's way more useful…"

"Huh?" Relena blinked in surprise and frowned slightly, even though she made her turn without hesitation. Buying time with one of her pawns, she tilted her head. Of course she hadn't forgotten that Chika didn't want her to hold back, but it wouldn't be fair if she did that to a beginner. "I'm sorry, but could you explain me what you meant?"

Even though she studied Japanese in her free time, she still wasn't skilled enough to understand every single thing.

"Well…" Chika paused for a moment, looking for the right words. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh and picked up her piece. "The queen can do so many moves, unlike the king who is… useless. But you still have to protect him if you want to win the game… Isn't that just stupid?"

Ah, now Relena understood Chika's question. She had to admit that she has had the same line of thoughts when she had first started with chess. Back then, she had asked Tohma the same thing.

"Onii-sama told me that I should think of the pieces as two opposing armies… And each king is like the General who sends out the commands while the queen is always by his side. She's his most trusted ally because she can move freely and without restrictions, you know?" Relena replied slowly, thoughtfully closing an opening in her own defense.

"I… don't get it…"

Chika was sure that Relena's explanation made sense, but… she couldn't grasp it. It still didn't explain why the king was so much more important than the queen.

"Uhm…" The blonde fell silent. This wasn't expected. She had been certain that her brother's explanation would work just fine… What was she supposed to say now? She really didn't want to leave any questions unanswered… Maybe she should take care of her turn first or… "Ah, I got it!"

Why didn't she think of that in the first place? She was certain Chika would get it this time!

"Think of them as Tohma-oniisama and Masaru-niisan!"

"Eh? B-but how's that supposed to work?" Chika was confused.

"Onii-sama is all for strategy and prefers to think rational while your brother is the complete opposite! He always dives in head first. That's why Onii-sama calls him unpredictable," Relena giggled cheerfully as she looked at the brunette, watching her confused expression turn into understanding.

"Huh… I see! So… that makes Masaru-niichan Tohma-kun's queen?" Chika joked amused, letting out a mischievous snicker. Her brother really wouldn't be happy to hear this. "But I think I got it… The king is more important because the queen would be lost without his support, right?"

"Yes, exactly," Relena nodded. "But the same goes for the king. Onii-sama would be just as lost without Masaru-niisan by his side. He's his biggest support after all."

It was kind of funny how they compared their brothers to chess pieces.

"Masaru-niisan wouldn't be happy if he knew that we called him Onii-sama's queen, huh?"

"Of course not, I bet he'd be annoyed. And that's exactly why I'm going to call him Tohma-kun's queen at least once later~," the brunette chuckled mischievously, already having fun at the mere thought of her brother's reaction. She really couldn't wait to see his face then, though she guessed that Tohma's reaction wouldn't be bad either. "…Check? I think your Tohma-kun's in danger!"

"…?" Taking a short glance at her side of the board, Relena was surprised to see that Chika was right. If she wouldn't do something now, she would lose her king with Chika's next turn. Thinking quickly, she picked up her queen and defeated the white bishop with the piece, placing it off the board. "Not anymore! There's no way that Masaru-niisan would let that happen," she giggled just as amused.

Just as it was in real life.

And similarily, it also didn't matter anymore who whould win. They had too much fun to care anymore and so their laughter kept sounding through the house, while they continued.


End file.
